Changes

Who does this notice affect:
This notice is for importers and their customs brokers of seeds for sowing requiring fungicide treatment on arrival in Australia.


What is the change?
The department has recently approved Westranell Horticultural Pty Ltd in Victoria Australia as an Approved Arrangement site that is authorised to carry out unsupervised fungicide treatment of imported seeds subject to biosecurity control.

This facility has undergone a departmental audit and has demonstrated proficiency to perform fungicide treatment of seeds on behalf of the department, without supervision by a biosecurity officer.


What other AA sites are approved for unsupervised fungicide treatment of seeds?
The following AA sites are currently approved by the department to undertake unsupervised fungicide treatment of imported seeds for sowing:

Importers seeking to use one of the listed facilities must contact the facility directly prior to importation to confirm arrangements, including fees and space availability.

Approved sites will now be maintained in the table of AA sites approved for unsupervised treatments of imported seed for sowing. This list is available within all BICON cases that have a pathway for seeds to undergo fungicide treatment in Australia.


Impacted import permits
Relevant import permits will be amended to enable unsupervised fungicide treatment at the sites listed above. Permit holders will be contacted prior to the amendment and will not incur any fees or charges for the variation.


How does a site obtain approval for unsupervised fungicide treatment of seeds?
Approved Arrangement sites seeking to vary their AA agreement to include approval for unsupervised fungicide treatment may write to the department at imports@agriculture.gov.au (title email with ‘Plant T2’). The email should include details of the request, including the site AA number.


Further information:
Please contact Plant Import Operations on 1800 900 090 or email imports@agriculture.gov.au (with the subject line of the email ‘Plant T2 - Seed for sowing’).